Swamp dragon

Swamp dragons (draco vulgaris) are fictitious creatures from Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. They are small, fly badly and tend to explode, due to the generation of various flammable gasses in their internal plumbing. They are, in short, dragons as they would have to be in order to work in reality.

Far in the past, some of them learnt how to utilise magic to become the graceful creatures of legend (draco noblis). However this took more magic than the Discworld could really provide, and they disappeared into a pocket dimension. They can be released, briefly and singly, by a sufficient expenditure of magical force. (See The Colour of Magic and Guards! Guards)

Swamp dragons are also related to Moon dragons (draco lunaris) as seen in The Last Hero.